Foster Care | Better Care Network

Foster Care

The term “foster care” is used in a variety of ways, and, consequently, it often causes confusion and miscommunication. In the industrialized world it is generally used to refer to formal, temporary placements made by the State with families that are trained, monitored and compensated at some level. In many developing countries, however, fostering is kinship care or other placement with a family, the objective(s) of which may include the care of the child, the child’s access to education, and/or the child’s doing some type of work for the foster family.

Such care is informal and unregulated by the State. Foster care can also be understood as formal care, typically provided by adults who are not related to the child, but may include formalized kinship care. It is usually for a limited period until the child can return home or move into a more permanent placement such as adoption.

In emergency situations, such as armed conflict, informal fostering often occurs spontaneously when a family takes in an unaccompanied child. Also, in some emergency situations, agencies have organized a quasi-formal type of foster care to ensure immediate, family-based care for unaccompanied children. Such foster care should be formally arranged by the local authority or child protection organisation and include assessing each child’s best interests; screening, training, and monitoring of caretakers; and planning for the longer term needs of each child.

Foster care can provide the advantages of family-based care within a child’s own community. In some situations, particularly spontaneous care initiated during an emergency, it can become de facto adoption in settings where State child protection services and formalization of care arrangements are very limited or do not exist.

Foster care plays an important role in a situation where a child’s own family is not providing adequately for his or her care. It can provide protection and care for the child while the family situation is improved, with the eventual aim of family reunification.

It is vital that children are provided opportunities to express their wishes and concerns regarding with whom they live and have contact. The appointment of a legal guardian is a means of ensuring their opinions are taken into account.

Foster caretakers often receive support to meet the child’s needs and prevent placement breakdown. This may include parenting guidance and access to basic services for the child. Payment for care requires thoughtful consideration and should not encourage the separation of children from their families, or the use of a child for financial gain. All placements should be regulated to ensure the standards of care protect the child and encourage her development.

This body of literature provides examples from around the world of spontaneous, informal and formal fostering. It includes guidance on standards of care and child care policy.

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The Family Dance: Ambiguous Loss, Meaning Making, and the Psychological Family in Foster Care

Monique B. Mitchell - Journal of Family Theory and Review, 31 Aug 2016

This article explores how a child's psychological family can be affected, challenged, and transformed in the foster care system. When placed into foster care, children are often disconnected from many significant relationships, especially familial relationships (e.g., parents, siblings).

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Communication, indigenous culture and participatory decision making amongst foster adolescents

Ulene Schiller & Gideon de Wet - Qualitative Social Work, 30 Aug 2016

This paper analyses the experiences of adolescents in foster care placement with specific reference to participatory decision making in an indigenous African cultural context in South Africa.

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Orphan village helps Russia rethink fostering

Matt Danzico, Emma Wells and Maxim Lomakin - BBC, 23 Aug 2016

This news article from the BBC is about a small orphan village south of Moscow, which has been experimenting with what the founders think may be a novel solution to support both foster children and the families who take them in.

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Training in Nonviolent Resistance for Foster Parents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Frank Van Holen, Johan Vanderfaeillie, Haim Omer, Femke Vanschoonlandt - Research on Social Work Practice, 12 Aug 2016

The aim of this study is to evaluate a training in non-violent resistance (NVR) for foster parents who take care of a foster child (ages 6-18) with externalizing problem behavior.

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Alternative Family Care: Manual for staff working with reception families and unaccompanied children living in reception families

Nidos, Danish Red Cross, Jugendhilfe Süd-Niedersachsen, Minor-Ndako, Organization for Aid to Refugees, 01 Aug 2016

This manual has been developed for professionals working with reception families and the unaccompanied children living with them.

Interagency Collaboration to Address Human Trafficking

Children's Bureau, 01 Aug 2016

This podcast episode features the Miami CARES project. Funded through a Children's Bureau grant, the Miami CARES project brings more than 10 government and community agencies within Miami-Dade (FL) County together to forge a collaborative, systemic approach to identifying minors who are, or are at risk of becoming, victims of human trafficking.

Fighting for the Forgotten: Risk and Resilience of Children and Families Involved with the Foster Care System

Deborah Shropshire, Amanda Williams Affiliated with University of Southern Mississippi, Lauren Burge, Larissa Hines – Springer Link, 30 Jul 2016

This article discusses how the resilience of foster children can be increassed, and their outcomes changed through the responsible and intentional interventions of health care professionals, child welfare workers, and communities.

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Interfaith video campaign on family based care in Indonesia

Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik (SC Indonesia), the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs, the Alliance for Family Based Care, 27 Jul 2016

A video campaign on family based care that is being displayed in a major chain of cinemas in Indonesia. The video contains a message on the importance of family based care for children by representatives of all religious leaders and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Youth Perspectives on Being Adopted from Foster Care by Lesbian and Gay Parents: Implications for Families and Adoption Professionals

Patricia A. Cody, Rachel H. Farr, Ruth G. McRoy, Susan J. Ayers-Lopez & Kathleen J. Ledesma – Adoption Quarterly, 20 Jul 2016

This article presents findings from a study on children who were adopted by lesbian or gay parents from within the United States foster care system, as well as a survey from the adoptive parents. The article reviews the controversial issues facing gay and lesbian adoptive parents.

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Alcohol management plans in Indigenous communities in Queensland (Australia) may have unintended implications for the care of children

Katrina Bird, Michelle S. Fitts and Alan R. Clough - Health & Justice, 18 Jul 2016

This paper discusses a large evaluation study that attempts to describe the impacts of the alcohol control laws enacted in various indigenous communities. Participants were interviewed and asked to give their thoughts on how the laws have affected them medically, economically and socially.

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